UN: Some 23,000 Refugees Fled Fighting To Turkey

The United Nations says an estimated 23,000 refugees have escaped fighting in northern Syria and crossed into Turkey in recent weeks.

William Spindler, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said in Geneva on June 16 that Turkish officials said most of those who fled their homes came from the border city of Tel Abyad.

The key city was controlled by Islamic State (IS) militants until Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) captured it on June 15.

The YPG took the city with the aid of air strikes by the U.S.-led coalition targeting IS sites and fighters.

Spindler said there were 2,183 Iraqis from Mosul, Ramadi, and Fallujah among the refugees who went to Turkey.

The IS controls large parts of Syria and Iraq but has lost significant territory along those countries' borders with Turkey to the YPG and other Kurdish fighters.